At first look, Seacox Heath, the imposing 19th-century Gothic citadel with its turrets, chiselled balconies, tennis courts and terraced lawns, doesn’t look like a secret base for Russian espionage operations.
Sitting within the sleepy countryside close to Hawkhurst, Sussex, the Grade-II listed 50-room mansion appears extra like a nation home for a rich eccentric tycoon. But in actual fact, since 1947 it has been utilized by Russian diplomats and their associates as a weekend retreat.
Since the Second World War, KGB and now FSB officers primarily based at Seacox Heath have loved diplomatic immunity from police prosecution. But final week, that particular standing was eliminated by the Home Office, which accused the Kremlin of utilizing the citadel and its 30 acres of grounds to plot espionage operations in opposition to Britain. Then, a army intelligence officer, Colonel Maxim Elovik, was expelled for undeclared spying actions.